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July 2, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The hallmark of a person

Abe Novick: Up, up, and aliya

July 1, 2009

Rabbi Avi Shafran: The Road Taken

The Kosher Gourmet by Marialisa Calta: Get into the holiday spirit with these Star-Spangled desserts

June 30, 2009

Rabbi Binyomin Ginsberg: What makes a great parent?

Caroline B. Glick: Ideologue-in-Chief

June 29, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Beware of 'Caveat Emptor'

Steven Emerson: ACLU pushing for more money for Hamas

June 26, 2009

Rabbi Yoni Posnick: Learn the secret to a healthy marriage from a scriptural villain

Caroline B. Glick: Barack Obama vs. International Law

June 25, 2009

Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf: The Absurd Power of Truth

Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkle's strip: Everything's Relative

June 24, 2009

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Advancement of technology is a wake-up call for humanity

The Kosher Gourmet by Andrea Weigl: Summer on a stick: Making frozen treats can be easy, creative and fun

June 23, 2009

Martin M. Bodek: 'On Surnames': And so, We Begin

Caroline B. Glick: The Obama Effect

June 22, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Working for a corrupt firm

N. Richard Greenfield : Where are American Jews?

June 19, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Emotion v. intellect

Caroline B. Glick: Israel's rare opportunity

June 18, 2009

Jonathan Rosenblum: Sometimes it is more essential to define the nature of evil than good

Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkle's strip: Everything's Relative

June 17, 2009

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The Language of Confusion

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Nothing pleases Dad more than a thick, juicy onion-smothered steak. Add home-Baked Potato Chips and …

June 16, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Career v. Careersism

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's losing streak and Israel

Richard Z. Chesnoff: ‘Palestinians’: Never Missing an Opportunity …

June 15, 2009

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu: How Judea and Samaria can become 'Palestine'

Daniel Pipes: Where Netanyahu's speech failed

June 12, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Some big thoughts about not acting so big

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's High Commissioner

June 11, 2009

Victor Davis Hanson: Our historically challenged President

Mitch Albom: Beware the True Believers

Lewis Grossberger: What we learn from the new Hitler photos

June 10, 2009

Mort Zuckerman: What Obama and his advisors won't -- or refuse to -- grasp about Israel and the Muslim world

The Kosher Gourmet by Steve Petusevsky Lotsa pasta: Tips, techniques and (amazing) taste

June 9, 2009

Anne Bayefsky: Obama's stunning offense to Israel and the Jewish people

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: America's first Muslim president?

June 8, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Merchant must take responsibility for careless shopper?

Mark Steyn: A superpower that feeds on mediocrity cannot survive for long on leftovers from the past

Richard Z. Chesnoff: How do you say 'kumbaya' in Arabic?

June 5, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: In quest of spirituality

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's Arabian dreams

Charles Krauthammer: The Settlements Myth

June 4, 2009

Paul Greenberg: The War Comes to Little Rock

The Kosher Gourmet by Judy Hevrdejs: Splash it on! Tap your inner jazz musician and improvise when stirring up a vinaigrette

June 3, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q. Should terrible teacher be exposed?

Jonathan Rosenblum: The Israel Lobby: Missing in Action

June 2, 2009

Dennis Prager: The Speech President Obama Won't Dare Give in Egypt

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Pressure on Israel raises war risk

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review June 15, 2007 / 29 Sivan 5767

Show some respect on Father's Day

By Greg Crosby


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Want to do something really nice for dear ol' dad this Father's Day? Show him some respect. Show him how important he is in your life. And try doing something that will actually make him proud of you. "Honor thy father and thy mother," the Ten Commandments say. In the 21st Century while mother is certainly honored and respected, poor dad has been demoted to just some guy who hangs around that you sort of tolerate. The father is not as dominant nor important a figure as he once was in the traditional family structure. In our modern age, fathers may very well have become the forgotten members of our society. But remember, fathers need to be needed too — now more than ever.


Sad to say, our culture just doesn't honor fathers as they once did. The focus now is on other groups. As our society celebrates multiculturalism, women's liberties, gay rights and other such segments, father has been shoved aside. More than ignored, in many instances father has been made to feel unimportant and even clownish. If we use the family station wagon as a metaphor of society, father has most definitely been relegated to the back seat — and strapped into a child's booster seat on top of it.


Just think how long fathers have been portrayed as being complete jerks in movies, on television, and in commercials. Fathers are the one segment of society where it's just fine to insult, malign, and degrade them with complete impunity. He's the slob or idiot in TV sit coms. He's either the bumbling oaf or the heartless money grubbing businessman in the movies. Rarely is father portrayed with any depth of character or intelligence or warmth. And certainly no brains.


Since every group with any strength today is represented by a vocal and "in-your-face" civil rights organization, maybe it's high time for fathers to establish one for themselves. There are no national lobbying groups to defend fathers against injustice. There should be a group like the National Organization for Woman (NOW) for fathers. Call it NOD — the National Organization for Dads. Or FATHER — Fathers Association To Have Equal Rights.


Fathers used to have a dominate role in the family unit that was uniquely theirs — they were the breadwinners, the main source of income for the entire family. They represented the strength of the family, they were the providers. Not so anymore. According to recent surveys, men are falling behind women as wage earners. The Los Angeles Times reported that American men in their 30s earn less than their fathers' generation did at the same age. And even though the total family incomes of men in their 30's continue to rise, it is due mostly because more of their wives are working, a study has shown.


In 2004, the median income for a man in his 30s was $35,010, 12% less than that of men in their 30s in 1974, adjusted for inflation, according to the study, which was based on Census Bureau data. By contrast, thirtysomething men in 1994 earned 5% more than their older counterparts. The researchers focused on the 30's age group because income in one's 30s is a good predictor of lifetime income, according to the report.


Men are not doing so well in college these days, either. Among all those under 50 years of age, 32% of women hold a four-year college degree, compared with only 23% of men. That's a dramatic change from the past, when younger men were better educated than younger women. Feminist groups did more than just secure "equal rights" for women, they have succeeded in pushing men out of the way. As society becomes more and more "feminized" the role of man and father becomes less and less.


Who knows, but with the advancement of new techniques in cloning and in vitro developments, in the future our society may very well get to a point where it is finally able to eliminate men altogether. But we aint' there yet, and as far as I know, fathers are still an intricate part of the procreation cycle. And beyond being simply sperm donors, the role of fathers in the lives of children has never been more important or necessary than it is right now. One mommie or two mommies or forty-seven mommies is no substitute for one daddy.


So on this Father's Day why not demonstrate just how much you appreciate your father by giving him more than just another present. Sure, it's fine to get him a DVD of his favorite movie or take him out to a ballgame or a steak dinner, but please go further than that too. Give him the gift of respect and honor. And make that gift last all year 'round.


My wife's father used to say when he was asked what he would like for Father's Day, "Just a kind word." Give dad a kind word and show him that there's absoluetly no one in the world who could possibly take his place. Respect. Honor. Love. A kind word. That's what dad needs this year. Oh, and maybe that 50" plasma HD TV.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.


JWR contributor Greg Crosby, former creative head for Walt Disney publications, has written thousands of comics, hundreds of children's books, dozens of essays, and a letter to his congressman. A freelance writer in Southern California, you may contact him by clicking here.

Greg Crosby Archives

© 2006, Greg Crosby

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